An Indian court ruled Friday (the 4th) that Astrology is a trusted science.' It was the response to a case brought against certain individual practitioners of "tantric" black magic and "fake" astrologers.

The judges looked to a drug control official, to determine whether the anti-drug Act could be applied here. The official had said, "The Act does not cover astrology and related sciences. Astrology is a trusted science and is being practised for over 4000 years."

This comes at a time when acrimony in the West among some astronomers and astrologers is at an all time high. In the UK, there's a fierce debate, with top astronomers repeatedly saying "Astrology is rubbish" on BBC2's popular Wonders of the Solar System program. It's led groups like the Astrological Association of Great Britain to petition the BBC for a public apology against this slanderous language.

Deborah Houlding of Skyscript UK has countered with articles on the Ophiuchus "New Year Shocker," and a thorough analysis of the Indian Court Ruling. It's a good newsy read, with thoughts on its significance for Western astrologers, now finding themselves in a defensive position.

Houlding makes many great points, notably that science is a word that means knowledge. But it's only been relatively recently, that knowledge has been restricted to the empirical, or what can be known by the physical senses. She writes, "The modern use of the word, to refer to a specifically 'non-art study' is attested to 1678; but before that it had a much wider application to indicate any generally accepted body of knowledge, mastery of which was acquired by an appropriate and committed course of study."

I've noticed those who enjoy taking the piss out of astrology are snarky and often write with barely contained anger at those who see more than just gassy cosmic bodies up there. Here's an example, called, Should We Debunk Astrology More Respectfully?

Houlding says the hard scientists are almost fanatical in their hostility, and sees it as a "pivotal moment within the process, as extremes become reached and biased emotive calls for repression of information comes to the surface, allowing them to be clearly seen for the damaging suppression of 'older knowledge' that they are." There's a pool of ugly vibes that comes with it, a disparagement that you also feel when other intuitive arts are being attacked.

My sense is that this is a time when polarities are being remarried, and among those are right/left brain, logic and intuition, 'science' and spirituality. Many trained as scientists are discovering the holographic nature of the universe, for example, and that we shape our world by our perception of it. I like this from Carl Jung, "The starry vault of heaven is in truth the open book of cosmic projection."

I don't really care what the scientists say -- maybe because I've experienced the stars and planets in a more mystical way. I feel wonder when I look up a the night sky. Maybe another would be thinking of orbit speeds and the distance between two cosmic bodies in light years. Maybe when the fusion happens, and the right brain takes its rightful place again, there could be talk of both.

Astrology, the study of interplanetary alignments as the explanation for everything, is a credible science, an Indian court has ruled.

For years it has been dismissed by the world's scientists, but according to the Bombay High Court astrologers are officially their colleagues Photo: ALAMY By Dean Nelson, New Delhi 3:57PM GMT 04 Feb 2011 The judgment will be met with relief in India, where engagements are decided, wedding and election dates are chosen on the basis of detailed charts drawn up by revered astrologers. A day deemed "auspicious" by an astrologer can lead to thousands of weddings and traffic gridlock.

For years it has been dismissed by the world's scientists, but according to the Bombay High Court astrologers are officially their colleagues.

The ruling was made in a case brought by a campaign group, Janhit Manch, which sought a ruling against practitioners of "tantric" black magic and "fake" astrologers. Their "work" should be prohibited by India's Drugs and Megical Remedies Act (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 which bans false claims in advertisements.

The judges rejected the application, however, relying on an affidavit by Dr R Ramakrishna, a government deputy drug controller, who said: "The Act does not cover astrology and related sciences. Astrology is a trusted science and is being practised for over 4000 years."

Lakshman Das Madan, one of India's leading astrologers and editor of the bestselling 'Babaji' magazine, offers detailed predictions ranging from domestic political tips on ministerial resignations to the wedding dates for top cricket stars. He remains hugely popular despite several errors. In 2009, he predicted the Hindu nationalist opposition BJP and its allies would win the election. In fact it lost spectacularly to its Congress rivals.